shoulder and a terrible pain in
my eye. Then came a thump on my head. When I came to, I was in bed at
the garrison house, with my scalp, or rather scalps, gone, for I have
two bumps on top of my head, and they took a scalp from each bump. My
right eye was gone, and I had a bullet in the shoulder.

[Sidenote: EPHRAIM'S ADVENTURE]

"Poor Ezra was killed at the first volley and scalped. An Indian hit me
on the head with his tomahawk; but I have a good thick skull, and the
blow glanced, and only stunned me.

"Some of our men ran to the fort, but my boy Gershom rallied the rest,
and they fought the Indians, who were double their number. Both parties
got behind trees, and tried to pick each other off.

"Old Poland, their chief, fired, and in reloading exposed himself, and
was shot. Then the Indians gave an infernal screech and ran over to
him.

"As they did so, our men shot two more of them, and they picked up their
dead and carried them off."

"You had a narrow squeak of it, that time," said Rogers. "I never was
scalped, but I've been near it times enough."

Hepzibah brought in more bowls of flip, and we watched John plunge the
red-hot loggerheads in, till the foam arose, and the bitter-sweet smell
filled the room.

We were passing the bowls round, and drinking the flip, when Matthew
Mead, the tythingman, came in. He sat down and watched us. Then he went
over to John Perry, and said: "Don't drink any more, John. You have had
enough."

John let the bowl go by, for if he had disobeyed the warning of the
tythingman, he would have been punished by the magistrate, or would have
been reprimanded publicly in meeting.

"Oh, come now, Mr. Tythingman," said Rogers. "Don't spoil the sport. A
little flip does no one any harm. Sit down and join us."

[Sidenote: THE TYTHINGMAN]

"There's no doubt," said Matthew, as they passed him the bowl, and he
took a long swig at it, "that flip is a good drink. I like it, and so
does neighbour John Perry. But it must be allowed that it's a most
insinuating drink, sweet and treacherous. And neighbour John has had
enough. But the rest of the company can drink a little longer. We have
heard great stories of your adventures, captain, and would like to have
you tell us some of them."

Then Rogers told us tales of hair-breadth escapes, and of encounters
with the enemy, that made our hearts beat quick, as we listened to him.
Of scouts through the woods, in which they inspect the enemy's fort